


Macabre Missive

by Dyeity



Category: Original Work
Genre: Barely a concept, I don't know shit about the army, M/M, don't come for me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-17
Updated: 2017-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:34:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27360565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dyeity/pseuds/Dyeity
Summary: Am I really going to post this shit I wrote like five years ago with no beta? looks like it
Comments: 1
Kudos: 1





	Macabre Missive

_ If they’re not the one to die, let them cry  _

It’s a saying the others are fond of; their stance on the grief of humans. Our business is limited to their expiration, their emotions before that time unconnected to us. Certain divisions are known to ease the passing of their targets, with company or explanations, ect. The ability to do so was not exclusive, and up to the discretion of the reaper, as long as it did not conflict with any of our three guidelines:

One, only ever uncloak to your target.

Two, only ever interact with your target..

Three, DO NOT intervene in living affairs.

In the War Division, reapers did not soothe or converse. There were too many to collect, too many dying too quickly. You completed your assignment and left: systematic, indifferent, and, most of all, efficient. Unless they were soon to be some other way, the living did not get a second glance. 

But here I am, staring.

“Come on, Jane, wake up.” the boy cradled someone soaked in blood, seeping from her uniform into his. The girl--Jane--was dead, and had been for ten minutes. I could tell, even if her soul hadn’t been in my possession. There was a large piece of shrapnel lodged in her abdomen from a stray land mine. 

They’d been on patrol, walking beside the vehicle. She’d been teasing him, the boy, poking fun and rustling his hair. It had all been so calm, for a moment I entertained the thought I’d been sent by mistake. Of course, that wasn’t the case. That’s never the case. I knew better, so the detonation didn’t come as a surprise.

“I was silly to worry, Jane, that’s what you said...” His eyes were starting to glaze over “You told me that it was going to be okay.” He shook her body. “You bet your mother’s ring, Jane, her ring! You can’t lose that, right? So you better win, you better be okay.”

My sect doesn’t get individuals, we get a heads up and areas to clear. I'd gathered five of them. Two others had passed, but I hadn’t gotten around to the pair yet. I was watching Jane’s body, and the boy.

“Backup will be here soon, just wait.” the boy knew she was dead. He was in denial. Tears streamed down his cheeks, cutting paths through the dirt and dripping on Jane’s slack face. His shaking was becoming more aggressive. I should leave, I should collect what remained and move on. I managed to tear my eyes away, turning my back on the boy. Picking my way through the rubble, I gathered one of the remaining souls and made my way to the last. The boy cried out. I jolted, looking at him as he wailed, hugging Jane’s body to himself tightly. This didn’t concern me. I returned to my objective.

The soul hung above the corpse, a luminescent ball whose edges flickered with color; this one, a pale blue. As I reached for it, arcs of energy leaped to my hands, the size and power growing stronger with proximity. I felt a tingle, a slight warmth in my palms, but nothing more. The boy let out another wail and the corpse's soul flickered, causing me to pull back. The corpse’s chest raised imperceptibly. Translucent tendrils of light arcing back to his body. Not a corpse yet. Soon, though. I would have to wait.

“Please, please please.” the boy said, his words wet and jumbled. I tried to ignore him. He grew quiet and I let out a breath that surprised me. After all this time, it shouldn’t be getting to me.

“You can’t leave me alone, please, I need you to help me.” 

I closed my eyes.

“Jane…”

I can’t do this again.

“Your radio’s broken…”

There were rules for a reason.

“Jane, I lied before, about mine…”

I opened my eyes. The soul bobbed gently, tethers to its body growing thin. He was almost gone, I was so close. I prayed the boy would stop talking.

“Jane, how will I get home?”

He noticed his mistake, the singularity, and started bawling. I stood, cursing myself. If I was to do this, time was of the essence. I went to kneel before the boy, running my thumb over the dark purple stone on my bracelet. The air felt lighter and I felt heavier. My shade had lifted. The boy screeched.

“Please stop that.” I said, taking Jane’s body from his arms and laying her on the ground delicately. I considered removing the shrapnel but decided it would be too much for the boy, compromising to lay her hands on her stomach. “I’m here to help”

“Where’d you come from?” His wide eyes were red and puffy from crying, contrasting the iris’ pale green. Tears clung in droplets to his eyelashes and his nose was running. 

“That’s irrelevant. All that matters is I’m going to help you.” He didn’t look convinced, then again, what he looked like was someone going into shock.

“I’m hallucinating.”

“If thinking that helps you cope. But come, time is short. He will be dead soon.” 

He remained dumbfounded as I rose. There was a moment of silence before I heard him stumbling behind me. I pointed. He took his comrade's wrist, checking for a pulse.

“You need to resuscitate him.” I said.

“B-but, he--”

“Has a few moments. Hurry.”

The boy stopped talking and began CPR. I watched the other man’s soul begin to flicker, slowly, before picking up pace, faster and faster, then disappearing entirely. 

The man sucked in a breath. The boy let out a disbelieving sound of relief.

“He’ll come around soon. When he does, hopefully the two of yo--” The boy had launched himself in at me.  _ This one is going to try and kill me, too.  _ I took a defensive stance, just as his arms wrapped around my torso.

“Thank you, oh god, thank you.” He said, voice muffled by fabric. He clung, hands pulling at the back of my shirt and face buried in the front as he sobbed, praising me and every other deity he could think of. 

I gave him a moment. 

“As I was saying…” I said finally, taking his hands and freeing myself, “He can help you. Make sure he doesn’t die.”

He nodded vigorously. 

That was enough rule breaking for the day. It was long past time to leave. I reached for my bracelet.

“Are you an angel?” I looked up, and couldn’t resist the slight tug at the corners of my mouth.

“Let us stick with hallucination.” Something dawned on me “That, for your own good, should not be told about to anyone.”

I grew light, the air heavy. The boy looked around frantically, before returning to his comrade. Another jewel pulsed green, informing me that there were no deceased or soon-to-be in the area and that I could return. I wondered if they would let this one slide. I was given an area, not a list, and he hadn’t been  _ completely _ dead. There was no reason the division needed to be informed of this situation. I rubbed a finger over the pulsating jewel and was gone.


End file.
